Russia is complaining that Ukraine’s grain exports are not going to poor countries, undermining the intent of the grain corridor agreement. There is the threat to undue or rewrite that agreement. More than 2 million tons of grain have been shipped over the last five weeks and while not all of it may have gone to poor countries, Moscow is intentionally ignoring the fact that the global grain trade is a single, fungible pie. For example, wheat is amongst the easiest of traded goods to be estimated and replaced according to weight, measure, and amount. The problem with the war was not that Ukraine’s wheat was not getting say Africa, but that its supply was removed from the total global tradable stock. Much as Russia’s...
What You Need to Know Today: Markets got a surprise with a corn yield of 181.2 bushels/acre in the October WASDE, above the average estimate of 177.6 bushels/acre and up from USDA’s September estimate of 178.5 bushels/acre. Although stronger demand is expected to absorb some of the addit...
From WPI Consulting
Forecasting developments in production agriculture
On behalf of a private U.S. agricultural technology provider, WPI’s team generated an econometric model to forecast the movement of concentrated corn production north and west from the traditional U.S. Corn Belt. WPI’s model has subsequently provided quantitative support to a multi-million-dollar investment into short-season corn variety development. WPI’s methodology included a series of interviews with regional grain elevators and seed consultants. Emphasizing outreach and communication with stakeholders who possess intimate sectoral knowledge – on-the-ground insights – is a regular component of WPI’s methodologies, made possible by WPI’s ever-growing network of industry contacts.